What is a Buffalo Bream?
Submitted by Fathom on Mon, 2013-02-18 20:39
OK, I'm a diver, I see some different stuff, I believe what everyone calls a "Buffy" might not be acurate?
I reckon there are 3 different species catorigised as one, not only major color variations but slight change in shape, hey I aint no Marine Biologist but certainly seen lots of difference in them for the last 15 yrs of filming stuff underwater in WA.
3 buffs or just 1 with colour variations?
till
Posts: 9358
Date Joined: 21/02/08
Some are buffs, some are
Some are buffs, some are silver drummer and there is a third I'm unsure about.
carnarvonite
Posts: 8673
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Low finned drummer
The third one is the low finned drummer
Fathom
Posts: 619
Date Joined: 18/04/08
ever tried to eat one?
just curious.
Glenn Moore
Posts: 228
Date Joined: 13/02/12
correct
Well spotted mate.
till and carnarvonite are correct. In the SW, the three species that most divers/anglers are aware of are:
Silver Drummer (Common Buffalo Bream) Kyphosus sydneyanus - this is the largest and most solid species, with a square tail
Western Buffalo Bream Kyphosus cornelii - small, silvery with forked tail
Brassy Drummer (Low-finned Drummer) Kyphosus vaigiensis - has faint brassy yellow lines along the side - tropical species - not as common in SW
BUT there is also a new species that has just been described (just a few weeks ago!), which is probably quite common in the SW (from Abrolhos to Albany). It looks very much like the Silver Drummer, but has an olive green vertical bar on the operculum (gill cover). For years, it has just been considered a variation of Silver Drummer. It is called Gladius Drummer Kyphosus gladius. You won't find it illustrated in any books yet.
There are two other species of 'buffs' in northern WA - Grey Drummer Kyphosus bigibbus and Snubnose Drummer Kyphosus cinerascens.
Also, the juvenile Silver Drummer has slightly different patterns - it is covered in large white spots.
Then there are the closely related Western Rock Blackfish Girella tephraeops and the Zebra Fish Girella zebra
Glenn Moore
Curator of Fishes
Western Australian Museum
twitter @WestOzFish
meglodon
Posts: 5981
Date Joined: 17/06/10
eat one if it tastes like
eat one, if it tastes bloody awfull it's a buff bream don't worry about colour or shape
Fathom
Posts: 619
Date Joined: 18/04/08
I have cooked Silver Drummer
Not too good but not bad.....cooked up a recipe of mine and me old mate loved it ,when he was getting a second helping I told him what it was ....he called me a F%^&$*'n asshole and refused to eat the rest, it was an experiment that I learnt a lot from
Fathom
Posts: 619
Date Joined: 18/04/08
spots
Whats going on when you usually see one in the school with spots covering it? Usually just one in a school ?
carnarvonite
Posts: 8673
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Egyptian bream
We accidentally netted half a ton of them years back, thought they were salmon. I asked the boss what are we going to do with them and he said he can sell them to who ever asks what they are.
Being around Easter at Eagle bay there was no shortage of tourist, even though then there was just the one road in or out,. First mob of them came up and asked what fish they were, Ëgyptian Bream"was his reply and sold them for 50 cents each, got rid of the lot in a matter of a couple of hours. His arguement was that by the time they got back home the fish would have started to go off without being on ice anyway and they would blame that and not the crap fish. and it would be too far to come back and complain.
Lamby
Posts: 3145
Date Joined: 04/08/09
Lol
Lol
Rig
Posts: 2925
Date Joined: 27/12/06
stink
the ones I call buff bream have a stink like no other once you cut them up
Swompa
Posts: 3930
Date Joined: 14/10/12
Great cray bait IIRC
Great cray bait IIRC
Wes F
Posts: 1068
Date Joined: 07/01/12
Shitty Bream
A good fighting fish, not a fish you would target for a feed. Normally crap themselves just after you catch them.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Silver+Drummer+Fish&qpvt=Silver+Drummer+Fish&FORM=IGRE
Recipe.
Clean the silver drummer as soon as it's caught. (Very important) No need to scale, gills must be removed
Lay the fish on a large piece of silver foil, stuff the cavity with lemon, garlic, onions and fresh chillies.
Pre-heat oven to 220 degrees.
Before wrapping fish place a brick inside foil. Put the fish into the pre-heated oven and cook till the brick has softened. Throw the fish away, plate up the brick and serve with beer battered chips and a fresh garden salad.
Best meal you'll have in a long time.
Old fishermen never die they just smell that way.
derko5000
Posts: 125
Date Joined: 12/01/13
Bahahahhaha wes
hahaha heard a very similar recipe years ago, only difference was this fish was boiled an with little blue metal rocks instead of bricks.......... not too sure which one taste better tho!